PanGaia #46 The Magick of Words (download)

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Who would have thought that an issue on such a seemingly harmless topic would have occasioned such passion. But this issue shows that, indeed, language does have power.

Raymond Buckland, the subject of our cover interview, knows a thing or two about words: given that he's the author of nearly fifty books on Paganism and Wicca. In our exclusive and wide-ranging interview with the man Gavin Bone calls "the Father of American Wicca" we discuss Gerald Gardner, the history of Wicca (before and after Gardner), Saxon witchcraft, spiritualism, and the future of Wicca with this venerable (but still vital!) elder of contemporary Paganism.

Several of our features in this issue deal with the importance of names, which are, after all, a special kind of word. In "the Emerging Indo-Pagans" Devi Spring explores the overlap between contemporary Western paganism and an ancient religion (which many would deem Pagan) -- Hinduism. She explores the overlaps between Paganism and Indian mythology, practice, and tradition, as there are a growing number of Pagans who practice in this blended tradition.

Exploring one of our most commonly-posed questions, Archer asks "Why do we call ourselves Witches?" while Kenaz Filan tackles the power of making words taboo in his essay "The Notorious 'N' Word." The power of magickal names is the subject of "A Rose by Any Other Name." Of course, the meaning (magickal or otherwise) of words can change over time. Jen Hamilton's article "A Choice of Oaths" explores the (explicitly Pagan!) history and evolution of the physician's famous "Hippocratic Oath." In our columns we have R J Stewart on "Words of Power," Joanna Powell Colbert on the Hierophant Tarot card; Judy Harrow on Pagan grieving; Kenaz Filan on the power of magickal secrets, and Archer on the magick of hunting.

Appropriately for an issue about words, we have a nice selection of magickal poetry in this issue, as well as an article *about* magickal poetry itself; plus a Pagan short stories (what if everything *could* be determined just by naming it?), a lively Toe to Toe debate on how much secrecy is healthy in Pagan groups, reviews, and so much more. 80 pages, originally published in Spring of 2007.